Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Drivers ticketed for parking by illegal curb cuts

When Morris Park resident Christina Bonelli received a $115 parking ticket on April 30, she just knew it wasn’t right.

Bonelli’s ticket was for obstruction of a driveway in front of 1568 Colden Avenue, across from her home on the same street. But she noticed that there was no drivewy at that spot, so she challenged the ticket.

“I knew it was wrong because even the person who was with me said, ‘Send in a Not Guilty right away because there’s not supposed to be a driveway here.’ Many houses that used to have gardens in the front, they have curbs that were cut, but shouldn’t have been. And with this spot, there was a tree in the middle of the parking space, so I was parked in front of a legitimate spot, where there couldn’t possibly be a driveway.”

Bonelli, 57, who works for the Board of Education, recruited her son to take photos of the location, and she wrote a detailed complaint letter with bullet points outlining her certainty that the curb should not have been cut because there was no driveway there, and thus her spot was a legal parking space.

Bonelli received word back from the NYC Department of Finance that she could pay a reduced fine of $59 — about half of the original ticket price, if she pled guilty.

“That still wasn’t fair,” she insisted. “I felt I should get the whole ticket waived.”

Bonelli took her problem to Senator Jeff Klein’s office. After some calls, they learned that if Bonelli appealed the summonsand lost, she would also lose the reduced fine offer and would have to pay the full amount.

It was a risk she was willing to take, because she felt sure she was right. Klein’s office helped her obtain copies of the property’s Certificate of Occupancy, which showed there was no legal driveway at the location. Her photos also helped.

Finally, this summer, the Department of Finance sent a letter to Klein stating that Bonelli’s ticket was dismissed completely.

Bonelli is elated to have avoided the ticket, but says her experience is a sign of a larger problem.

“My biggest gripe was that when the traffic agent was called by someone and came and saw my car, he should have said, ‘There’s a tree here, so there can’t be a driveway.’ But nope, they still issued the ticket.”

“The ticketing that is going on in our area is out of control,” she continued. “I’ve seen cars towed away unfairly. You can’t even step out of the car and they put a ticket on your windshield. It’s crazy that the Mayor got rid of cops and teachers, but hired 750 new traffic agents.”

Well, there is an NYPD program where you call if someone is blocking your driveway and they either ticket or tow. I used it a couple of times. The responders were always NYPD police officers, not ticket agents.

" More whining from the privileged class.?"Why because the person has a car and was totally within their legal right to challenge a ticket issue for an illegal curb cut, that could have been avoided in the first place if the issuing officer used their brains?

I would like to know what exactly makes the car owner part of the "privileged class"?

I've been reporting illegal curb cuts for years in Astoria. They are all over now and out of control as the city looks the other way for increased income. Pinheads in the DOB. FIRE THEM ALL!

The city rather tax us up the ass and look the other way 'FOR THE PRIVILEGED CLASS" because they are TOLD TO by Little Miss Bloomberg.

It's easy to get the original house blueprints if you take the time to do so. That's how you stop it. The landlord gets fined up the wazoo and has to make the proper changes to his property. Just like they have to when their basement turns into a death trap with 4 apartments

Hint: Anytime you see a no parking sign hanging on the tree IN FRONT of the driveway is a DEAD GIVE AWAY.

Also, a curb cannot be more than 1 inch from the height of the street. If its 2 or more, it's a dead giveaway.

Be proactive. Give a CRAP! Don't just whine about these problems. TAKE THIS CITY BACK FROM THE SCUM WHO DESTROYED IT!

what is the law on how much of the lawn can be used to construct a second concrete driveway on the other side of a old 2and 1/2 story house. it has a B3/2 listing.the 1/2 has always been rented with out a separate entrance. the new zoning is R2A.(only 1 family on 60x 100 lot ) new owner has put a second INVALID NUMBER ON FRONT PORCH.

"what is the law on how much of the lawn can be used to construct a second concrete driveway on the other side of a old 2and 1/2 story house. it has a B3/2 listing.the 1/2 has always been rented with out a separate entrance. the new zoning is R2A.(only 1 familyon 60x 100 lot ) new owner has put a second INVALID NUMBER ON FRONT PORCH."

Tell Maloney about this. Make her DO SOMETHING for the people who voted her in again!

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